Hinges for DIY Shutters

The most popular hinges used with plantation shutters are non-mortise hinges, also known as flush hinges.

These are loose pin hinges, so it is easy to connect panels to frames by simply lining up the two parts of the hinge and inserting the pin.

Frame hinges (shown on right in picture), have a slot hole in the larger leaf which makes it easy to adjust the panel up or down.  The inner panel hinges come in two options;

1. A standard non-mortise hinge (left), similar to the frame hinges but without the slot hole.
2. A rebated hinge (centre), used for meeting panels that have rebated or light blocking stiles fitted.

90% of the hinges we use in our factory are white, however they are also available in chrome, brass and antique brass.

These shutter hinges, along with a wide range of DIY Shutter Components are available to buy in our online store

Posted by Hugo Clancy. 29 June 2014

 

What’s a Split Shutter Tilt Rod?

A shutter tilt rod is the mechanism used in a shutter panel for opening and closing the louvres.
It’s either visible on the front of the shutter or hidden to the back of the panel.
A split tilt rod is generally associated with the hidden tilt rod. Instead of one rod connecting all of the louvres together, the rod is split, at whatever point you wish, allowing a section of louvres to open and close independently of the remaining louvres.

Posted by Hugo Clancy. 22 June 2014.

DIY Shutters – Joints

One of the most important parts of a shutter panel is the joint where the vertical stiles meet the horizontal top and bottom rails.

We use the Festool Domino mortise & tenon system for making our joints.

It replicates the traditional mortise & tenon joint but is a lot less expensive and time-consuming to machine.

The picture below from our workshop shows top, middle and bottom rails cut to size and mortised for the Domino joint.

Note the bottom rails on the left have an extra mortise bored, to allow extra domino tenons to be fitted, thus increasing the overall strength of the joints and hence the panels themselves.

For the DIY enthusiast, these are really easy to glue up and clamp together, and trust me, once left clamped overnight, that joint ‘aint coming apart!

Let us know if you have any queries on our range of ready-made shutters – available with a lead time of 3-4 weeks, or our flat pack shutters with a lead time of just 7-10 working days.

Posted by Hugo Clancy. 17 June 2014